As per a report by Cricbuzz, the Sahara Park Newlands pitch is all set to face condemnation and can also face sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC). The pitch conducted the shortest Test match in the history of international cricket.
The Sahara Park Newlands pitch in Cape Town which was witness to India’s historic win over South Africa had to face a lot of criticism. The match got over within less than two days as India registered their first-ever Test win in Cape Town. The Rohit Sharma-led side was able to level the two-match Test series by 1-1 and also recorded their best performance in a Test series in South Africa in the last 14 years.
The ICC is expected to impose some demerit points at the Sahara Park Newlands pitch and there is also a chance that Indian captain Rohit Sharma shall face some sanctions for the comments he made on ICC and the Newlands pitch after the match.
Match referee Chris Broad, who was a former England batsman has an option to rate the pitch poor or unfit. The pitches of a ground can get a total of six ratings which include very good, good, average, below average, poor, and unfit.
No questions are raised when the pitches receive very good, good, or average ratings, a soft action is imposed on the pitch if it receives below-average ratings. However, the action can be harsh if it gets a poor or unfit rating and the same is expected in the case of the Sahara Park Newlands.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma was very angry at the critics who criticized the Indian pitches for their turning nature. Rohit stated that he doesn’t mind playing on pitches such as Newlands as long as the critics keep their mouths shut on the Indian pitches.
Rohit Sharma blasts down at critics over Newlands pitch
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match press conference, “We all saw what happened in this Test match and how the pitch played. I honestly don’t mind playing on pitches like these as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don’t talk about Indian pitches.”
“That’s my judgement, my opinion and I’ll stick by it. I’ve seen enough cricket and enough of how these match referees and ICC looks into these ratings. I don’t have an issue on how you rate, but stay neutral.”
The Indian team wrapped up South Africa for 55 runs during their first innings whereas India were also bundled for 153 runs gaining a 98-run lead over the Proteas. While the hosts finished Day 1 at 62/3 in their second innings, they were wrapped up for 176 runs and handed over a target of 79 runs to win the match. India chased down the score with seven wickets to spare.
Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah were the architects of India’s win at the Newlands as they picked up 6 wickets each in both innings. If India had been chasing anything more than 100 runs, then it might have become difficult for them to chase down the score.